Like in the case of many of the great, historical cycling races, creating Milano-Sanremo was closely linked to a newspaper, namely, the La Gazzetta dello Sport.
First of all, the finish town, Sanremo was certain. The wealthy members of the local sport club wanted to have a race and contacted Eugenio Costamagna, the owner of the La Gazzetta dello Sport, who already created the successful Giro di Lombardia in 1905. But Costamagna was concerned about the possible success of a bike race around the town, because he already tried to organize a race for cars to Sanremo, and it was a disaster.
The most problematic part of the plan was the Turchino Pass. The owner of La Gazzetta dello Sport offered some publicity in the paper for Giovanni Gerbi (winner of Giro di Lombardia 1905, the first race run by the famous newspaper) and his training buddies, if they get through the pass. They managed it, and the place is still one of the most iconic points of the race.
The first Milano-Sanremo was held on 14. April 1907.
It was a rainy day, the roads were covered with mud. Only 33 riders started the 288 km long race. Before the race, Gerbi was offered by his team Bianchi 2,5 lires for every kilometre, if he could win the race. But the Red Devil learned, that his teammate Lucien Petit-Breton was offered six times more money for the same success, so he made a deal with the French rider, he would help him to the victory for splitting the money in half after it.
As it was right predictable, Gerbi was the best on Turchino, only Gustave Garrigou could follow him. It seemed quite evident, that they would have fought for the victory, but Gerbi was rather waiting for Petit-Breton, and the three riders entered Sanremo together. 500 m before the finish line Gerbi grabbed Garrigou at his collar, meanwhile, Petit-Breton finished the race first.
The jury relegated Gerbi to 3rd place, Garrigou officially became 2nd.
Further reading:
Peter Cossins: The Monuments. The Grit and the Glory of Cycling’s Greatest One-day Races. Bloomsbury, London (UK), 2015